Rave Run: New Orleans

The 1,300-acre City Park is famous for its ancient oak trees and moss canopies.

THE EXPERIENCEThe 1,300-acre City Park, famous for its ancient oak trees and moss canopies, houses miles of paths that snake around bayous and past the Ted Gormley Stadium, site of the 1992 Olympic Track Trials. "I find solace running beneath the mighty oaks, the city's true historic landmarks," Hill says. "It's an oasis that feels like it was designed for runners."

FACTS & FIGURESA botanical garden, built within the park in 1936, features over 2,000 plants.

Surrounded by art installations, wildlife and wetlands, take a jog around Big Lake.

RUNNERS' WORDS"New Orleans is a destination of sights, of tastes, and of sounds. Here, the sounds of the city can fill you with life. But in City Park, an oasis for natives and transplants like myself, the sounds of the Big Easy can make you feel safe. Calm. And at-home."

"Every route is scenic. Trails and paved roads snake like the Mississippi River around bayous, lakes, ponds, sculptures, fountains, Venetian gondolas, and 600-year-old oaks. There's a quarter-mile boardwalk around Big Lake, nature trails, and paved areas for running all the way to Lake Pontchartrian."

"Throughout my four- to eight-mile here in the Park five times a weeks, I feel transcendent. I'm very lucky to have such a beautiful, welcoming, and inspiring place to run close to my home. To run in City Park is, in one word, captivating. And even though City Park offers a retreat from work and play, it's still a stone's throw from brass bands and "where y'at.'"

RACE NEARBYUse this stunning spot for a pre- or post-race shakeout run.